STEVE KEMP was thinking about Expiration Warning and keyed into 
cyberspace:
SK>DS>I haven't received the notice yet..it will be taken care of altho
SK>DS>sometimes I  feel it would be better just to let it go.  The
SK>DS>quality of the echo has gone  down to where no one posts except
SK>DS>for endless arguments.  The interesting,  informative people have
SK>DS>either left in disgust or just don't post anymore.... 
SK>I'd tend to believe that this is because of a lack of rational
SK>thought,  and action, on the moderators part. Oh yeah, that's you. If
SK>you allow  flamers like Jane to hurl insult upon injury, at
SK>will...while coming  down with an illogical and baseless proclamation
SK>that "certain herbs are off limits" because of their illegality in
SK>certain areas of the United  States...then, it is YOU that are
SK>promoting disharmony and discontent. 
Moderation can be accomplished privately. If you note, Jane has not been 
here for a while. Perhaps, and this is merely conjecture, she is 
experiencing a "cooling off period" as she did continue the flames and 
the thread after she was asked to stop.
While I disagreed with Dia's ending the thread, you have to admit, it 
was getting a might tedious. The alignment was Jane vs. everyone else. 
Now, if there is one thing I have learned about Jane, it is that you 
cannot get her to change her mind.
As for why people stop posting, it is probably not as simple as you 
would want it to be. Threads which dominate tend to cause a decrease in 
posting. Arguments in some conferences tend to decrease the postings.
As for Dia's style of moderating, you have no idea how easy going she 
is. I was moderated, publicly, in FIDO POLITICS because I asked someone 
to stop calling Jane a liar. I used to read the UFO conference for 
laughs, and once posted that some guy was a proponent of some "whacko 
conspiracy nut's" weirdo ideas regarding UFOs. Got moderated for that 
(not the language, but for criticizing the whacko). 
The moderator in FIDO CONSTITUTION does not dare moderate me, even 
though I regularly refer to his whinings as "reading straight from the 
Konservative Kristian Koalition cheat sheet." I also refer to him as 
factually challenged, and intimidated by specifics. Oh, he does not like 
my referring to some of his ideas as "male bovine excreta" or the cruder 
form of the same substance.
But it is the Constitution, and imagine moderating in that.
SK>The first thing I saw when I hit this echo, months ago, was you 
SK>virtually SCREAMING in a angst ridden tizzy. Your ability to moderate
SK>effectively is non-existent. You irrational tantrums are not
SK>something  that should be expected from a moderator. You should hang
SK>it up. Leave  such pursuits to people that have control and a
SK>thinking mind. 
This is a conference discussing ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE. What's wrong with 
having an alternative style of moderating?
SK>If you hadn't noticed, people were debating much....with reasoned and
SK>thoughtful conduct (well, except Jane) until you goose-stepped in
SK>like a  little Nazi and forbid a certain alternative medicines
SK>discussion. That  is the style you demonstrated when I first came
SK>upon this echo (as I  stated in the prior paragraph). It was such a
SK>shock to me I commented  about it. It turned out, to my surprise,
SK>that YOU were the moderator. It  wasn't a scene that I would have
SK>expected from one, and I've seen ALLOT  of moderation styles. 
You have seen "a lot" of styles? Well, you have seen another.
SK>Sure, FIDO isn't a democracy...but, at least a proclamation should
SK>have  a logical reason. AND, the moderator should possess at least a
SK>minimum  standard of knowledge on the issue of the echo. A modicum of
SK>restraint  is also a reasonable thing to expect. You see, moderators
SK>generally  attempt to keep the flames DOWN, not incite them.
You seem to argue both sides. Dia cut the thread to end the flames, and 
then you complain about the flames not being cut, and about the thread 
being ended.
               The Few. The Proud. The Chosen.
                     markprobe@aol.com
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